A plane which was seriously damaged at a Cromer airfield crash-landed due to a fault with its tyre valve, an air accident report has determined.

The Jabiru UL-450 plane crash-landed before immediately “skidding sideways” and was left with a damaged nose, wing and propeller, after its landing gear legs collapsed from under it.

The pilot, John Rowland Caylow, who had more than 1,100 hours of flight experience, and the single passenger on board were both unhurt in the crash.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report found Mr Caylow, who had checked the wheel tyre pressures before taking off at Darley Moor airfield, reported the “left tyre was deflated following the accident”.

The report stated: “The pilot considered that its valve had not fully sealed and the air had leaked out during the flight.”

Mr Crawford, of Nottingham Lane, Ironville, flew one passenger from the Derbyshire airfield to north Norfolk on Saturday, September 29.

According to the AAIB report, the take-off and flight of 111 nautical miles (128 miles) were described as “uneventful” and the plane approached the airfield near Cromer “at full flap”.

The crash-landing occurred at midday when the plane, registered G-CEOM, “touched down and immediately turned to the left.”

The report said: “It started to skid sideways, which subsequently caused the nose and right landing gear legs to collapse.

“The aircraft came to a stop at the side of the runway.

“The pilot and passenger were not injured.”

In determining the case of the accident, Mr Caylow, 69, told the AAIB that “the left tyre was found to be deflated and there were grooves in the runway caused by the left wheel and brake assembly.”

The report stated: “He considered following inflation of the tyres at Darley Moor, the left wheel tyre valve had not fully sealed, allowing air to slowly leak from the tyre.”

The report added that Mr Caylow, who has a private pilot’s licence had 1,114 hours flying experience, of which 354 were on aircrafts of the same type, and had flown for four hours within the last 90 days.